Writing prompt – After completing all of the assigned unit readings, you will write a 1200 to 1500 word
compare and contrast essay (not including the works cited page) in which you compare and
contrast the experiences of Haitian and Cuban immigrants who came to Miami from the 1950s
through the 1980s. In your essay, you should go beyond just pointing out similarities and
differences. Instead, you should discuss the significance of these similarities and differences. In
short, what do we learn from comparing the experiences of these two groups? Your essay must
a minimum of four sources from the approved reading folder (the podcast episodes and the
assigned chapters, including readings from previous units). Other outside sources must be
approved by me in advance. Additionally, your essay must be organized around a clear and
concise thesis statement, present your ideas in well-structured body paragraphs, incorporate
strong support to help you develop your main points, employ a logical organizational structure,
and use MLA in-text citations and a properly formatted MLA works cited page. Finally, your
essay will avoid the use of first- and second-person pronouns (I, me, my, us, we, you, your,
yours, etc.). (Note: Although part of the paper, the works cited page is not included in the total
word count for the paper. For example, if a document contains 1200 words but that includes
the works cited page, the essay is not 1200 words long.)
IMPORTANT NOTE ON CITING THE PODCAST EPISODES: Each episode of the podcast series
Detention by Design should be cited as its own source on the works cited page; therefore, each
episode counts as one source used in your paper. I recommend following citation models that
start with the episode title rather than the host since, if you start the citation with the host’s
name, all your in-text citations will need both the host’s name and episode title. If the works
cited entry starts with the episode title, that’s all you’ll need to cite for the in-text citation.
For our readings, of course, you always start your citation with the author(s) names and use
their names and page numbers for your in-text citations. Detention by Design, a WLRN Podcast by Danny River, I can’t send the link but it’s a reading on the podcast. The podcast is also available on most podcast apps. The first paragraph will be talking about both Haitian and Cuban, the second paragraph will talk about Haitian, the third paragraph will talk about Cuban, and the fourth paragraph will talk about both Haitian and Cuban. My professor will be using an AI program to see if we are cheating, also use citation and find quotes in the reading and podcast.
